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The Evazan Gambit, Part II
Airlock More of a storage area for the boarding ramp than anything, this room provides direct access to the interior of the ship. The ramp forms the floor of the room once retracted, and a round archway opens out into the starboard corridor. Ponda Baba shoves Poe into the airlock. Evazan climbs in through the hatch. "Quickly, Ponda! All is ready to take off. To the cockpit!" Poe moves away from Ponda as they get inside the ship. His face, while not burning, is tender. "Can you fly us out of here?" He asks as he moves towards the cockpit. Evazan wheels on Poe. "I flew her in here, didn't I? You watch yourself. I have the death penalty in NINE systems! Don't question me!" Starboard Corridor Directly across from the boarding ramp is the access tunnel for the upper and lower gun turrets, accessible via a ladder bolted to the far wall of the tunnel. Curving forward, a short tunnel branches off into the cockpit. The corridor continues forward and opens out into the main hold. Some of the access panels on the corridor walls are partially there or have been removed entirely, exposing some of the interior workings of the ship. Poe shakes his head to Evazan and holds up his hands, "Look, I'm not questioning you or anything, just trying to off my assistance. Jeeron Poe, by the way." Ponda Baba grunts, jerking his head toward Poe as he stares at the doctor with glittering black eyes. "Tongue, never stop." Evazan nods to Ponda. "I noticed. But..." he turns to look at Poe. "You can fly? Are you good?" Poe shrugs, "I haven't been in behind the console in over a month, but I used to be pretty decent." He glances at Baba, but doesn't say anything. Evazan grunts. "Fine. We see if you are good enough." He moves toward the cockpit. Cockpit This cramped cockpit looks like a cone with the top shaved off from the outside. The top half of the cone is sectioned into window panes, culminating in a semi-circular forward pane. The entire cockpit is one large console, with the main controls arranged on the forward console beneath the window. There are four seats here, two at the console and two behind. A sliding hatchway leads out into the rest of the ship. Poe moves towards the console. "As soon as they find the officer's body, they'll be trying to shoot us down." Evazan straps himself in to the copilot seat. "Fly!" he snaps. Poe hops into the seat and starts to man the controls. The ship sways and bumps as it lifts from the surface of the ground. Poe says, "Lifting off. Destination?" Ponda Baba settles with a grunt into a chair. "Tatooine. And if you are worried about them shooting at us, you can stay!" Evazan says angrily. "Ponda and I are leaving, right, Ponda?" You feel a sudden jerk as the ship speeds up. A voice comes across the crackling comm system: "Attention, Death Shroud - halt and prepare to be boarded!" Through the viewport, a star destroyer can be seen between the freighter and the asteroid field. Three TIE fighters drop out of the primary bay and arc toward the freighter. Ponda Baba grunts, nodding to Evazan. "Solo," he growls. Poe shakes his head and just works the controls. "You going to man the guns? We've got company." "You worry about flying! Ponda and I worry about guns. Right, Ponda?" Evazan says. "Solo," the Aqualish growls, hunkering down in his seat. Poe continues to work the controls. He doesn't say anything, but it shows that he's somewhat rusty. Poe manages to dodge two of the fighters, but the third gets a bead on the Death Shroud and fires, hitting the shield generator. The ship lurches from the impact. A voice comes across the crackling comm system: "I repeat, Death Shroud - halt and prepare to be boarded!" The TIE fighters maneuver around to prepare for another sweep of the freighter. All three TIE fighters evade the Death Shroud's blasts, and continue herding the freighter toward the waiting star destroyer. Poe manages to evade two of the three TIEs, but one of them locks onto the ship and fires again, hitting the power generator. The lights inside the ship flicker and life support whines as the auxiliaries struggle to compensate. Poe mutters under his breath as the lights flicker. His reactions are starting to pick up, but it's still not enough. Evazan fails to hit any of his targets, and the TIEs keep edging Death Shroud toward the menacing wedge of the star destroyer. Evazan grunts as his shots miss again. "What's the matter with you?" he barks at Poe. "Not closer! Farther away!" he points at the star destroyer. Poe doesn't answer, just concentrates on evasion and flying. He continues to try his best to maneuver away from the Star Destroyer while avoiding the fighters. Poe dodges one of the TIEs, but the other two get locked on, firing their cannons and hammering the shield generators, causing Death Shroud to buck violently - first port, then starboard. The shields are gone. All three TIE fighters easily dodge the doctor's flailing energy blasts. The star destroyer looms ahead. And from the primary landing bay of the great wedge drop *twelve* TIE/In fighters, arcing around to close the gap and join the first three. Huffing, staring out through the viewport, Ponda Baba growls: "No hope." Evazan turns and looks at Ponda. "I'm sorry Ponda. I tried! At least you don't die in the mines." Poe growls, "If we're not dead there is still hope. We didn't die in the floods, we're not going to die here." The hyperdrive charge indicator begins to flash. The Death Shroud is now capable of going into hyperspace. Poe lets out a woot. "We're clear! Prepare to jump." The ship hums loudly as it enters into hyperspace. Evazan sighs, and settles back in his seat. Ponda Baba pulls a clawed hand away from his skewered gut wound. His prison uniform is all wet with blood. He grunts, sits forward, then leans over to the right, thumping against the bulkhead. Poe glances at the astrogator. "We'll be at Tatooine in around ten minutes. Will we be safe there? If I remember right, the Impies used to patrol that area every so often." "We will be safe there," Evazan says. "Jabba rules Tatooine. No imperials there now, they left a few days ago." He turns and looks at Ponda Baba. "Ponda! I forgot you are wounded." He unstraps himself from his seat, and moves to attend the Aqualish. Ponda Baba doesn't respond. He remains inert, hunched against the bulkhead. Poe glances back at Ponda. "Can you help him?" He seems concerned, slightly. The ship reverberates as it drops out of hyperspace. Evazan nods, and wraps Ponda's arm around his shoulder, pulling him up and back toward the main hold. "I'll see what I can do for him, but he needs bacta." Poe nods and goes back to piloting. The ship hums loudly as it enters into hyperspace. The ship reverberates as it drops out of hyperspace. Ponda Baba coughs, grunts, groggily regaining consciousness as he's heaved up by the doctor. He bellows: "No!" And then pushes himself away, falling on his back. Poe says, "We'll be landing in less than a minute." You feel the ship begin to slow. Evazan looks at Ponda in surprise. "What's wrong, Ponda? I can help you. Give you one of my special treatments." There's something about the way Evazan says "special" that seems a little unsettling. Poe frowns at the conversation, but just says, "Prepare for descent." The ship shudders as the retrojets engage and the ship begins its descent. The ship rotates slowly and fires braking thrusters as its struts touch down. Ponda Baba growls weakly, waving a clawed hand at the doctor. "No treat..." He drags himself up to his elbows, shuffling back toward the bulkhead so he can sit with his back against it. "No treat..." He grunts, gets up on his feet in a crouch, draping his bloodied, clawed hands over his knees. And then he falls forward - THUMP! - face first on the deck, arms at his sides. Poe stands up from the console. "What's the matter with him?" He looks from the Doctor to the falled Aqualish. Evazan pulls Ponda around onto his back, and presses his hand against the wound. He pulls it away, soaked with blood. He sniffs his hand, and then licks some of the blood off his fingers. "I can't imagine," he says. Poe frowns, "Is there a bacta tank on Tatooine?" Ponda Baba reaches out with a clawed hand, clutching the doctor's wrist. When he speaks, it's in a hoarse whisper. "Solo. Kill him. For me." And then, the clawed hand releases Evazan's wrist and falls lifeless to the deck. Evazan frowns, although it's hard to tell with his twisted and scarred mouth. "Not sure," he says. "But Jabba can help. I will hire a speeder and bring him to Jabba..." He looks down at Ponda as he speaks, and then he checks the Aqualish for a pulse. "He is dead," he says. "Dead! Oh, Ponda..." he bends over the Aqualish's body and weeps. "I repaid my debt, Ponda. And I will do it. I will find him and kill him for you." Poe frowns and walks over, looking down at the dead Aqualish. He doesn't have anything to say. They were never friends, but the Aqualish did help the pilot escape. And Ponda didn't kill him or eat his tongue, if that counts for something. Evazan looks at Ponda's body. "Must get you to the laboratory, Ponda...yes..." he mutters softly. Then he turns and looks at Poe. "You are hurt, yes? I can treat you. I am Dr. Evazan. I'll fix you up nice. Good as new. /Better/ than new." He looks down at Ponda. "He was strong. He was tough. You want to be as strong as Ponda Baba, maybe? Dr. Evazan can make it so." Poe blinks at the doctor. "As strong as Ponda? What do you mean by that?" Evazan smiles, a gruesome sight with his scarred face. "As strong as Ponda!" He looks down at the fallen Aqualish's body. "His arms are strong! Very strong! I can give them to you, yes! Better than your own arms. Stronger!" Poe shudders and shakes his head. "I'm happy with my own arms. Thanks for the offer though." Evazan is clearly disappointed. "You are sure? Yes?" He sighs. "Then I will take Ponda back to my lab," he says, leaving unstated why he would want to do that. "As for you...imperials will have tracked us here. Soon they find this ship. I will destroy it. You should go. Leave Tatooine if you can. They will soon look here." Poe shudders again, then nods. "I will. I'll hitch a ride to Bespin for now. Then maybe head out to Nar Shadda." He adds, "Thanks for taking me a long." Evazan nods, but continues to look at Ponda Baba's body, a look of mounting expectation spreading on what remains of his face. Poe turns towards the exit and starts to walk out. "If you ever need a favor, you can try and track me down. Not sure where I'll be though." Evazan nods. "I will remember. And if you change your mind about Ponda's arms, I should have them for a while. Not forever, though. I will find another taker." Poe nods his head, but doesn't answer. He just heads out. category:Reach of the Empire Logs